Martin J. Wygod, a Wall Street whiz who transitioned from walking horses after races to owning and breeding championship thoroughbreds, passed away on April 12 in San Diego at the age of 84. He amassed his wealth from investments in online companies that sold pharmaceuticals by mail and streamlined medical paperwork.
His daughter, Emily Bushnell, confirmed that he succumbed to complications of lung disease in a hospital.
Growing up near racetracks in suburban New York and guided by mentors in various fields, Mr. Wygod became one of the youngest managing partners of a New York Stock Exchange brokerage in the 1960s. By the age of 30, he was already a millionaire. In 1993, he sold Medco Containment Services to Merck for $6 billion, earning himself $250 million from the deal.
“The name of the game in the future is going to be information,” Jan Buck, chairman of Princeton Group International, remarked to The New York Times in 1994 regarding Mr. Wygod’s success. “Marty Wygod made $6 billion for himself because he developed a data base.”
Afterward, Mr. Wygod assumed the role of chairman at WebMD, a prominent online health information service, which he later sold in 2017 for an estimated $2.8 billion.
In 1980, he married Pamela Yellin and in 1995 they relocated to River Edge Farm in Buellton, Calif., where they bred racehorses on a 110-acre property. Ranked as California’s top thoroughbred breeders in multiple years, the couple bred 124 stakes winners before moving their operations to Kentucky in 2010.
Born on February 1, 1940, in Manhattan to Max Wygod and Rose (Greenwald) Wygod, Mr. Wygod’s passion for horses was ignited during his high school years in suburban Nassau County. He developed a love for horses while hanging out at Aqueduct and Belmont Park, where he would cool down horses after workouts and races.
After graduating from New York University in 1961, Mr. Wygod embarked on a career on Wall Street with a $20,000 gift from his mother. Through mentorship from industry leaders like Fletcher Jones, Fred Carr, and Manny Kalish, he grew his initial investment into millions by the 1980s.
His racing stable achieved significant success, winning numerous major races over the years. His ventures extended beyond finance and into the health care industry, where he made substantial profits through strategic investments.
Mr. Wygod is survived by his wife, son, daughter, stepson, sister, and three grandchildren. His legacy lives on through his contributions to the equestrian world and his successful breeding and racing endeavors.
